Each NBA team’s most clutch player of all-time

Most clutch player in Utah Jazz history: John Stockton

The Utah Jazz under Jerry Sloan were the perfect picture of sustained success, never once posting a losing record when Sloan coached either John Stockton or Karl Malone. That meant that over the years the team faced a number of high-pressure situations, and it is interesting who showed out as the best clutch player.

Malone was known as the play finisher, the scorer, and indeed he ranks second all-time in points scored. Stockton, the league’s all-time leader in assists, was the distributor. He set up his teammates to score. Yet when the game was on the line, Stockton could score with the best of them.

Key Moment: In 1997 the Utah Jazz had the best squad in franchise history, a 64-win club with an elite SRS rating. Stockton and Malone were incredible, and after losing to the Sonics the year before were ready to break past the Western Conference Finals. Game 6, in Houston, saw the Rockets up late before Stockton went on a run.

In less than three minutes Stockton scored nine points to bring the Jazz back and tie the game. After Rockets wing Clyde Drexler missed a shot and Malone rebounded, the Jazz used a timeout to advance the ball past midcourt. With 2.8 seconds on the clock, Stockton calls for the ball, catches outside the arc, and dribbles into a 3-pointer at the buzzer to win the game.

This was not only the top moment of Stockton’s career, but it was the highlight of the Jazz organization. The shot punched the ticket to the NBA Finals, the team’s first ever trip, and was their first of two straight Western Conference Finals victories in 97 and 98.